Pak: Police implicated PTI vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi in over dozen May 9 cases

Dec 29, 2023

Islamabad [Pakistan], December 29 : Following the rearrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pakistan police have implicated him in at least 12 different cases registered by the district police in connection with May 9 violence, as reported by Dawn.
On Thursday, a magistrate sent him to Adiala Jail on a two-week remand in a case regarding the attack on the General Headquarters (GHQ), Rawalpindi.
However, the court rejected the Punjab police request for a 30-day remand of the former foreign minister and sent him to prison for two weeks.
PTI Vice Chairman Qureshi was whisked away by the police from prison on Wednesday, where he claimed that he was "mentally and physically tortured".
He was detained in a case regarding the attack on the General Headquarters (GHQ) on May 9, Dawn reported.
According to the sources, the Rawalpindi police have implicated the PTI leader in 12 different FIRs registered with the district police in connection with the May 9 violence.
The PTI leader was brought to the court of Magistrate Syed Jhangeer Ali in the judicial complex in an armoured police vehicle.
Moreover, Qureshi was handcuffed when produced before the court; however, the magistrate ordered the police to remove his handcuffs, according to Dawn.
Reportedly, he was produced in the judicial complex amid high-security measures and the media were also not allowed to enter the courtroom.
Later, after the court ordered his judicial remand, the police drove him to jail, reported Dawn.
During the outset of the proceedings, Qureshi said that he wanted to record his statement. He informed the judge that the Supreme Court had approved his bail in the cypher case, but he was detained under the Maintenance of Public Order before his release.
Later, he was detained from the prison in a fresh case, reported Dawn.
The PTI leader claimed that the police officials had kicked and ridiculed him, and said that he was not taken to a hospital despite chest pains.
"A team came to me saying that they wanted to record a statement in connection with the May 9 violence. These people want to nominate me in cases related to May 9. I was in Karachi on May 9 ... my wife was undergoing surgery," he said.
He further highlighted that he was kept in a cold cell last night and was not allowed to sleep. "I was [also] tortured mentally," he added.
On Wednesday, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who was granted bail in the cypher case by the Pakistan apex court last week, was rearrested outside the Adiala Jail, reported Dawn. Later, the party shared the footage showing Qureshi being manhandled outside the jail, from within its premises, according to Dawn report.
Earlier on Thursday, the PTI condemned the "torture" and arrest of the party's Vice Chairman Qureshi and further urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu notice on the matter, Geo News reported.
PTI called the latest arrest of Qureshi "illegal," as he had been bailed out by the Supreme Court, and the orders for his detention under the 3-MPO were also withdrawn soon after being issued, according to a Geo News report.